I think my harddrive is loosing space for no reason?

[mac000]

I just recently checked my HD, i dont really have much on this HD the new intel imac stock 17".

anyways, it says i have used 55 GB of disk space, there is no way, i mean the main OS X takes up like 14GB? what in the world has taken up all this space on my HD, my shared music folder is only 3.8 GB so i'm a little frustrated bc i can't figure out how this happened.

is there a way that i can check what is taking up the largest amounts of space on my HD etc.? thanks people

i have burnt dvd's that i own on my computer using MTR and popcorn is there someway these contents are put somewhere?

edit: to mention there is one other user on this computer, my gf, but she doesn't have anything on here, i'm not sure if media files/apps etc. are being duplicated across users or what?

 

[imacintel]

I just recently checked my HD, i dont really have much on this HD the new intel imac stock 17".

anyways, it says i have used 55 GB of disk space, there is no way, i mean the main OS X takes up like 14GB? what in the world has taken up all this space on my HD, my shared music folder is only 3.8 GB so i'm a little frustrated bc i can't figure out how this happened.

is there a way that i can check what is taking up the largest amounts of space on my HD etc.? thanks people

i have burnt dvd's that i own on my computer using MTR and popcorn is there someway these contents are put somewhere?

edit: to mention there is one other user on this computer, my gf, but she doesn't have anything on here, i'm not sure if media files/apps etc. are being duplicated across users or what?

Hmm. This seems like a weird problem. Try repairing premissions.

Finder>>Applications>>Utilities>>Disk Utility>>Macintosh HD>>Repair Permissions.

 

[reh]

http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/

 

[mac000]

hm strange then 10 minutes later my disk space went from 95 GB to 106 GB.

 

[mac000]

ok so i downloaded omni disksweep and finally the largest disk taking up space was "private" > var>log > WINDOWS SERVER.LAST

it took up 18.5 GB, wtf?

 

[reh]

ok so i downloaded omni disksweep and finally the largest disk taking up space was "private" > var>log > WINDOWS SERVER.LAST

it took up 18.5 GB, wtf?

I would reboot and delete the file (it's just a logfile). Perhaps something is wonky that a reboot will fix.

 

[mac000]

I would reboot and delete the file (it's just a logfile). Perhaps something is wonky that a reboot will fix.

ok so cool i can just DELETE the LOG file(s) and i'll be good? + reboot

2nd, : is there something i can do to prevent this "log" file from "logging" so i dont run into this in the future? thanks

 

[reh]

ok so cool i can just DELETE the LOG file(s) and i'll be good? + reboot

2nd, : is there something i can do to prevent this "log" file from "logging" so i dont run into this in the future? thanks

Just reboot and see if that fixes the problem. If that does not fix the problem, then the logfile will provide clues as to what is wrong. And no, you don't want to turn off these log files.

 

[mac000]

Just reboot and see if that fixes the problem. If that does not fix the problem, then the logfile will provide clues as to what is wrong. And no, you don't want to turn off these log files.

u know i was a little confused about that - well should i delte the LOG file then reboot or just reboot and see if it is fixed?

 

[reh]

u know i was a little confused about that - well should i delte the LOG file then reboot or just reboot and see if it is fixed?

1) Reboot
2) If the logfile is no longer growing after the reboot, then delete and go on your merry way. If the file continues to grow, then examine the log file and try to determine what is messed up and spiting out so many errors.

 

[mac000]

1) Reboot
2) If the logfile is no longer growing after the reboot, then delete and go on your merry way. If the file continues to grow, then examine the log file and try to determine what is messed up and spiting out so many errors.

i have no idea how to exam the log file and see why is it spitting out so many errors?

 

[reh]

i have no idea how to exam the log file and see why is it spitting out so many errors?

Have you rebooted? Is the logfile still growing?

 

[mac000]

if i'm running on my imac there should be NO reason there is ANY "WINDOWS LOG FILES" on there right? i should just delete that shiiit

 

[NoNameBrand]

i have no idea how to exam the log file and see why is it spitting out so many errors?

Open the terminal and type:

tail /private/var/log/windowserver_last.log

Hit return to execute this command (which shows the last 10 lines of the file).

windowserver_last.log is the last windowserver log - the current one is windowserver.log


This will show the first lines:

head /private/var/log/windowserver_last.log

This will tell you how long it took to generate that huge file.



If you want to follow what's happening in the current log:

tail -f /private/var/log/windowserver.log

 

[NoNameBrand]

if i'm running on my imac there should be NO reason there is ANY "WINDOWS LOG FILES" on there right? i should just delete that shiiit

It's not Windows like MS Windows, it's the window server, which is the program that draws all those pretty windows on your screen in an Unix-like OS (which Mac OS X is).

But yeah, deleting it should be A-OK.

 

[sturigdson]

My comment won't offer too much specific assistance, but... Hope my exerience informs what's going on with yours a bit...

I've had a similar problem on 3 machines- an infinitely growing logfile that increases in size to massive proportions, swallowing up my HD. This was a severe head ache at the time, and I tracked it down with omni disk sweeper as well. There weren't many discussions on the topic on this board or Apple's support boards, so I felt pretty well on my own.

For me, the specific circumstances involved three things: a range of OSX I was using [ 10.4.0-10.4.4], FCP 5.0, and a new Sony HDV deck [the camera itself functioned properly, but the deck did not.]

I was logging tapes, but there was some minor conflict with the HDV deck during the log process which caused some lines to be written every time the problem was reported to the system, which was, say, every few process cycles. So the log files ballooned very quickly, with hardly any noticible effects on the operation of the computer.

Until, suddenly, I had zero capacity in my HD. Poof. That's when I first noticed the problem- a window popped up warning me. No other errors were ever reported, and FCP was rock solid- didn't even waver. Obviously, when the HD gets to the point of having no room, serious problems can ensue [and did, the first time this happened to me.]

For me, one of three things solved this problem: when an upgrade came for 10.4.5, that patched the system writing to the log; using the camera rather than the deck prevented the report of the conflict; and an eventual patch to, i think FCP 5.0.1 also resolved the problem on one machine.

Regardless, here's my point: in the log file, you may be able to detect what accessory or program you may be running which causes this to occur. I found one thread which reported a problem with, I think, a third party USB game controller, as well.

 

[mac000]

My comment won't offer too much specific assistance, but... Hope my exerience informs what's going on with yours a bit...

I've had a similar problem on 3 machines- an infinitely growing logfile that increases in size to massive proportions, swallowing up my HD. This was a severe head ache at the time, and I tracked it down with omni disk sweeper as well. There weren't many discussions on the topic on this board or Apple's support boards, so I felt pretty well on my own.

For me, the specific circumstances involved three things: a range of OSX I was using [ 10.4.0-10.4.4], FCP 5.0, and a new Sony HDV deck [the camera itself functioned properly, but the deck did not.]

I was logging tapes, but there was some minor conflict with the HDV deck during the log process which caused some lines to be written every time the problem was reported to the system, which was, say, every few process cycles. So the log files ballooned very quickly, with hardly any noticible effects on the operation of the computer.

Until, suddenly, I had zero capacity in my HD. Poof. That's when I first noticed the problem- a window popped up warning me. No other errors were ever reported, and FCP was rock solid- didn't even waver. Obviously, when the HD gets to the point of having no room, serious problems can ensue [and did, the first time this happened to me.]

For me, one of three things solved this problem: when an upgrade came for 10.4.5, that patched the system writing to the log; using the camera rather than the deck prevented the report of the conflict; and an eventual patch to, i think FCP 5.0.1 also resolved the problem on one machine.

Regardless, here's my point: in the log file, you may be able to detect what accessory or program you may be running which causes this to occur. I found one thread which reported a problem with, I think, a third party USB game controller, as well.

hmm , might be my external USB HD i attach to my iMac, anyway to take that log file from happening in the first place? some "prefrences" panel anyone?

 

[WildCowboy]

From my experiences, if an out-of-control log file happens once, don't worry about it. It does happen occasionally (though very rarely), and it's usually more trouble than it's worth to try to track down the cause. If it starts to happen multiple times, then look into it.

 

[reh]

hmm , might be my external USB HD i attach to my iMac, anyway to take that log file from happening in the first place? some "prefrences" panel anyone?

That's not fixing the problem. It's merely hiding the evidence. Not a wise move.

 

[17luv]

Sounds like you have found the problem?? Another app. I have had to keep an eye on for taking up a large amount of space at random is iPhoto with the thumbnails (I lost several gigs in one night and didn't know where they went!). Restarting iPhoto though and choosing the pop up option got the lost gigs back though Hope you get yours back too!